Postpartum Therapy in New York: Online, Anywhere in the State

It is ten at night in a Westchester apartment. The baby is finally down, the bottles are washed, and you have the laptop open to a list of therapists, most of whom are full or do not take your insurance. You have been telling yourself for weeks that this is just what the newborn months feel like. But you cry in the car, you cannot remember the last time you laughed, and when people ask how you are doing, you say “tired” because it is easier than the truth. (This is an illustration drawn from what new parents commonly describe, not a real client.)

To start, contact us or check your insurance. Postpartum therapy in New York is by secure video, anywhere in the state, with New York-licensed therapists. It sits alongside our postpartum support, individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy and trauma and EMDR therapy services. We offer postpartum care in New York and nine more states (full list below).

Online Postpartum Therapy Across New York

Every New York session we offer happens over secure video. That is a deliberate choice, and for new parents it tends to be a relief rather than a compromise. A session can start ten minutes after a feed ends, in the same room where the baby is sleeping, without a stroller, a subway transfer or a sitter. Parents meet with us from Westchester and the Hudson Valley, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, Long Island, the Capital Region and upstate towns where a perinatal-minded therapist can be a long drive away.

You do need to be somewhere in New York when each session takes place, since that is the state our therapists are licensed in. If you are spending a few weeks with family in another state after the birth, tell us and we will plan around it. Our White Plains address is 75 South Broadway, Suite 4-4413, White Plains, NY 10601, and our guide to online therapy in New York covers the practical side of video sessions.

Signs It Is More Than Being Tired

Exhaustion is a given with a newborn, which is exactly why postpartum depression and anxiety hide so well. What tends to separate them from ordinary tiredness is that rest does not fix them. Parents who end up calling us usually describe some mix of these:

• Feeling flat or detached around the baby, then guilty about feeling that way
• Crying often, or feeling close to tears most of the day
• Lying awake while the baby sleeps, mind racing
• A short fuse with a partner, older children or yourself
• Constant checking: the monitor, the bottle measurements, the breathing
• Pulling away from friends, or dreading visitors
• A sense that everyone else is coping and you are the one getting it wrong

Weepy, up-and-down days in the first week or two that fade by themselves are common and usually pass. When the heaviness lasts, arrives later, or keeps getting worse, that is the point to reach out. Some parents notice it only when parental leave ends and the old routine is supposed to start again. Our page on therapy for new mothers looks more closely at anxiety and the identity shift that comes with a first baby.

The Thoughts Nobody Warns You About

A surprising number of new parents are ambushed by flashes of something awful: dropping the baby on the stairs, the baby slipping under the bathwater, or a sudden image of causing harm themselves. Most people never mention these to anyone, because saying them feels dangerous. In therapy you can. These images tend to horrify the people who have them, and that reaction is itself a sign of how much you want the opposite. Talking about them openly, with someone who is not shocked, usually takes away a lot of their power.

What calls for urgent help is different: a thought that feels like an intention, a plan you find yourself making, or seeing and hearing things that are not there. If that is happening, skip ahead to the crisis numbers below and use them now.

Your New York Postpartum Team

Any of our New York therapists can see you for postpartum depression or anxiety, so we can match you on schedule, insurance and personality rather than putting you on a waitlist for one name:

• Lisa Abrotsky, LMFT, founded the practice in 2012 and is also our EMDR therapist in New York
• Jodi Katz, LMSW, works with individuals, couples, families and teens
• Dejanai “DJ” Watson, MS, LMFTA, draws on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems and Brainspotting
• D’amber Pounds, MS, MFT-LP, sees individuals, couples and families

New fathers, non-birthing partners and adoptive parents can also struggle after a baby arrives, and they are welcome to see any of us. More about each clinician is on our therapists page.

What the First Few Sessions Cover

Your first session is an intake, 45 to 50 minutes long like every session after it. Expect questions about sleep, feeding, the support you have at home, the birth, your mood before the pregnancy, and your safety. There is nothing to prepare, and it is fine to cry, to pause for the baby, or to say you do not know.

After that, sessions are built around what is weighing on you most. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) gives you a way to catch the anxious or self-critical thoughts that spiral late at night and check them against what is actually happening. When the problem is that nothing feels good anymore, the work often starts very small, with one walk, one call to a friend or one meal you actually sit down for, and grows from there. ACT is useful when the feeling is not going to vanish on schedule and the goal is to stop fighting it long enough to live alongside it. There is no set number of sessions, and evening appointments are available by arrangement.

Wondering whether this is serious enough to call about? It is if it is on your mind. Call (914) 236-4450 or send us a message; no referral or diagnosis is needed, and we will match you with a New York-licensed therapist.

Going Back to Work, and Other Turning Points

For a lot of New York parents, the hardest stretch is not the first month but the handoff: the end of parental leave, the first day of daycare, the first commute in months, a manager who expects you to pick up exactly where you left off. Anxiety that was manageable at home can spike when you are an hour away from the baby, and low mood can deepen when there is no longer any time that belongs to you.

Video sessions fit around that transition. Some clients book a session at lunch from a closed office, others in the evening once the house is quiet. Therapy at this point is often about the practical and the emotional together: what to say to your employer, how to split nights with a partner, and how to stop measuring yourself against parents who seem to have it handled.

If the Birth Left a Mark

Sometimes what keeps a parent stuck is not the baby but the delivery: an emergency cesarean, a hemorrhage, hours of not knowing whether the baby was all right, a NICU stay, or simply feeling unheard in the room. Months later, the smell of a hospital lobby or a friend’s birth story can bring it all back.

In New York, Lisa Abrotsky offers EMDR by video for experiences like these. It follows a structured eight-phase protocol, and the first two phases are entirely preparation, so nobody asks you to go back into the delivery room before you are steady enough. DJ Watson is trained in Brainspotting, which some clients prefer for difficult memories. Either can run alongside your regular postpartum sessions.

Two Parents, Less Sleep, More Friction

Even strong couples can start to feel like coworkers on a night shift after a baby arrives. Arguments about whose turn it is stand in for bigger feelings about fairness, loneliness or loss of identity. All four of our New York therapists see couples, so a joint session can sit next to your individual work without either one crowding out the other. Partners can join together or from two separate places in New York. Our couples therapy in Westchester page has more on how that works.

If your partner frightens you, hurts you, or controls your money, phone or movements, joint sessions are not the right step. If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.

Therapy Here, Prescriptions Through Your Doctor

We do not prescribe medication in New York; what we offer here is therapy. Medication can still be part of your care. If your OB, midwife, primary care doctor or a psychiatrist prescribes for you, we are glad to stay in touch with them, with your permission, so everyone is working from the same picture. That coordination matters most if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

If You Need Help Right Now

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is free and confidential, by call or text, at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). You can reach it before or after the baby arrives.

Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, at any hour if you are thinking about suicide or feel you are in crisis.

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby that feel like urges, are seeing or hearing things others do not, feel confused, or have not been able to sleep for days even when you had the chance, call 911 or go to an emergency room now. Those can be signs of a medical emergency that needs care the same day.

What It Costs in New York

New York plans we are in network with: Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare (including UMR plans), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, CDPHP, Northwell, First Health Network, MultiPlan and MagnaCare. Medicare and Medicaid are not accepted. Benefits differ from plan to plan, so send your details through our insurance verification form and we will email you what your coverage looks like within a couple of hours.

Self-pay is $125 per individual session and $175 for couples, family or EMDR sessions, each 45 to 50 minutes, and $200–$250 for an extended 90-minute individual, couples or EMDR session. You can pay with an HSA or FSA card, and if you have out-of-network benefits, we will give you a superbill to submit. Self-pay clients can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before starting. Most new clients are seen within a week. To get started, call (914) 236-4450 or send us a message.

Common Questions

Where can I find a postpartum therapist in Westchester or NYC?

Our New York-licensed therapists see clients by secure video anywhere in the state, from Westchester and the five boroughs to Long Island and upstate. Because sessions are online, you do not have to choose a therapist based on who is closest to your apartment or your office.

Will my New York insurance cover postpartum depression therapy?

In many cases. We are in network with Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, CDPHP, Northwell, First Health Network, MultiPlan and MagnaCare in New York. Plans vary, so use our insurance verification form and we will email you the details.

Do you see new dads and partners for postpartum depression?

Yes. Postpartum depression and anxiety are not limited to the parent who gave birth. Fathers, non-birthing partners and adoptive parents can see any of our New York therapists, individually or together as a couple.

Can I start therapy while I am still pregnant?

Yes. We see pregnant clients for depression and anxiety, and starting before the birth means you already have someone in your corner when the baby arrives.

Do you prescribe postpartum depression medication in New York?

No. In New York we provide therapy only. Your OB, midwife, primary care doctor or a psychiatrist can prescribe, and with your permission we will coordinate with them.

Where We Work

All New York sessions are by secure video. Postpartum support is offered by secure video in ten states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. In Florida, it is also offered in person at our Wellington office. You can also read about the clinicians who work here.

More on This

• Finding a postpartum depression counselor: how to find support
• Therapy for new mothers
• Online therapy in New York
• Depression therapy in Westchester
• Anxiety therapy in New York
• Our White Plains address and New York team